A "new" classroom

As many of you know, due to budget issues, I stopped working yesterday. I am sad that I am no longer in the classroom, but I am very excited that I get to spend more time at home with Nicole and managing the house. That being said, I have spent some time creating a classroom for Nicole. Even though she is too young for formal teaching, there is SO much that I want her to be able to explore and experience and I wanted to make sure all the supplies I need are in one spot and not easily accessible to her (like the bubbles, paint, and crayons). I also decided to make her toy area a little more appropriate for her and am trying to find ways to make it more Nicole-friendly.

I took advantage of a Target coupon and printed pictures of what should be in each bucket. This way as she grows she can help me put toys back into the correct bucket. However, I only did 10 of the buckets, because I can't decide what to put in the other two.

Here are the finished buckets with pictures. She currently has 3 that are full of books (like mother, like daughter).

Here is part of her "classroom". It is in the dining room since that is where her highchair already is and it is an easy place to do art activities. The shelving thing was a baby shower gift and it has side pockets for small things like paint and bubbles. The front pockets are just the right size for wooden puzzles, paper, and other fun projects. On the left I added a ribbon with clothespins to showcase her projets. In the middle is a pocket chart where I can put flashcards or other goodies on display.

Today I have also found a great reason to put her classroom in the dining room! She finishes eating way before I do, so I can easily grab a puzzle or some crayons and paper to keep her occupied while the rest of us finish our meal.

Since three toy buckets (and her bedroom bookshelf) weren't enough to contain all her toys, she has a basket filled with fun books to read and a little reading chair. The chair also blocks my cookie jar and cookbooks from a curious toddler. I also have two green baskets for her crayons and coloring books. The other one is basically empty until I figure out a use for it. Above that is my cd player and all kinds of CD's with children's praise music and fun learning songs.

The other day I got an awesome deal on the Melissa and Doug alphabet magnets, and so I made the mistake of putting them on the dishwasher for Nicole to play with. However, after she went to bed I spent the next 30 minutes trying to track down all of the magnets that she had gotten EVERYWHERE! My solution was to use a magnetic tray so I can easily clean them up once she is done with them. So far it works great!!!

I cannot take credit for this fun activity. I saw it on Pinterest the other day and thought it was great! It is a discovery basket that I can give to Nicole while I am working on dinner or need to occupy her for a few minutes. The idea is to change out the objects when she seems to lose interest in the items. Also, she only gets to play with it for short periods of time so that it doesn't become "just another toy".

Another Pinterest idea. This is great for distracting Nicole when she gets into the baby wipes. It is a Kleenex box filled with scraps of fabric that are about 2 feet long. I used a variety of fabric types so she can feel/explore the different types of fabric. The best part is, it takes about 15 seconds to clean it up!!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Feel free to come by sometime to learn and explore with us! (Just call first)!!